Archival Video Status?

Archivists who keep videotapes for 50 years or longer have different needs than broadcasters who think of “archival” as anything that is not online and consider 10 years to be the lifetime for most video. This paper informs broadcast engineers about issues on long-term storage of videotapes, including the physical problems of binder breakdown, fungus, and thin basefilm. Another issue involves equipment—both obsolescence and proper alignment and cleaning. Video formats is another area of major concern, particularly because the machines that meet criteria as an archival format are too expensive for archives, or the video is compressed and degrades the original analog material. Is there a truly archival video medium/format in the near future?

Print ISSN

0036-1682

Published

2001-05

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J17779